Efrain Juarez

Efrain Juarez Valdez is a professional Mexican footballer who has football in his blood. A defender, Juarez began his playing career in 2001 when he signed up with the youth system at UNAM Pumas. From 2001 to 2006, Juarez played for the junior teams at Pumas before getting a chance with one of the biggest teams in the world, FC Barcelona.

Barcelona picked Juarez as a part of their “B” team which played in the lower divisions of the Spanish League. Juarez, a wonderfully talented footballer, became a part of the Barcelona B team for 2 seasons, 2006 – 2008.

During this time, Juarez had already established himself as a significant contributor to the Mexican National team at the junior levels by being a part of the Under-17 team in 2005 and the Under-20 team, in 2007. In all, he played 9 times for these two teams, scoring once each for them. A 20-year old Juarez was called into the first team at UNAM Pumas where he instantly made a mark and became an important part of the 2009 Clausura title winning team.

In 2009, the Mexican national team also called up Juarez for his services and since then, the youngster has starred 10 times for the national team as well as over 50 times for his club. With the national team, at the Under-15 level, Juarez won the 2005 Under-17 FIFA World Championships while in 2009, helped Mexico lift the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.